Social media is used for many different things such as being able to interact with others, share your thoughts, posting pictures of the best moments, etc.

For junior Lauren Kent, she found herself constantly comparing herself to others online. Having always struggled with the way social media made her feel, she deleted her social media for around eight months.

“Those were truly some of the best months of my life,” Kent said. “I focused so much more on my own life and did not have to constantly see what everyone else was doing in their life.”

Before deleting social media Kent felt like she was always in the shadow of someone else and did not know how to be her full potential self.

“I made myself out to be someone I clearly was not,” Kent said. “Due to the pictures I posted, people would tell me they compared themselves to me. That was my breaking point.”

Kent got her social media back in August. Kent said it was a conflicting process deciding if she truly wanted to get it back or not. Kent felt like she was giving in to the temptations and felt guilty for not wanting to keep everything deleted. This time around she got her social media again because she was able to have more self-control and post what she truly wanted to.

“I have never felt like social media was a bad thing,” Kent said. “I do believe that it has brought negative qualities to our generation, but overall I believe it is a great tool to use to express yourself.”

22nvuong@usd489.com